patch 9.1.1166: command-line auto-completion hard with wildmenu
Problem: command-line auto-completion hard with wildmenu
Solution: implement "noselect" wildoption value (Girish Palya)
When `noselect` is present in `wildmode` and 'wildmenu' is enabled, the
completion menu appears without pre-selecting the first item.
This change makes it easier to implement command-line auto-completion,
where the menu dynamically appears as characters are typed, and `<Tab>`
can be used to manually select an item. This can be achieved by
leveraging the `CmdlineChanged` event to insert `wildchar(m)`,
triggering completion menu.
Without this change, auto-completion using the 'wildmenu' mechanism is
not feasible, as it automatically inserts the first match, preventing
dynamic selection.
The following Vimscript snippet demonstrates how to configure
auto-completion using `noselect`:
```vim
vim9script
set wim=noselect:lastused,full wop=pum wcm=<C-@> wmnu
autocmd CmdlineChanged : timer_start(0, function(CmdComplete, [getcmdline()]))
def CmdComplete(cur_cmdline: string, timer: number)
var [cmdline, curpos] = [getcmdline(), getcmdpos()]
if cur_cmdline ==# cmdline # Avoid completing each character in keymaps and pasted text
&& !pumvisible() && curpos == cmdline->len() + 1
if cmdline[curpos - 2] =~ '[\w*/:]' # Reduce noise by completing only selected characters
feedkeys("\<C-@>", "ti")
set eventignore+=CmdlineChanged # Suppress redundant completion attempts
timer_start(0, (_) => {
getcmdline()->substitute('\%x00$', '', '')->setcmdline() # Remove <C-@> if no completion items exist
set eventignore-=CmdlineChanged
})
endif
endif
enddef
```
fixes: #16551
closes: #16759
Signed-off-by: Girish Palya <girishji@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Christian Brabandt <cb@256bit.org>
diff --git a/runtime/doc/options.txt b/runtime/doc/options.txt
index ccf26ce..5ed06ba 100644
--- a/runtime/doc/options.txt
+++ b/runtime/doc/options.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-*options.txt* For Vim version 9.1. Last change: 2025 Mar 01
+*options.txt* For Vim version 9.1. Last change: 2025 Mar 02
VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
@@ -9566,7 +9566,10 @@
"lastused" When completing buffer names and more than one buffer
matches, sort buffers by time last used (other than
the current buffer).
- When there is only a single match, it is fully completed in all cases.
+ "noselect" Do not pre-select first menu item and start 'wildmenu'
+ if it is enabled.
+ When there is only a single match, it is fully completed in all cases
+ except when "noselect" is present.
Examples of useful colon-separated values:
"longest:full" Like "longest", but also start 'wildmenu' if it is
@@ -9589,7 +9592,11 @@
:set wildmode=list,full
< List all matches without completing, then each full match >
:set wildmode=longest,list
-< Complete longest common string, then list alternatives.
+< Complete longest common string, then list alternatives >
+ :set wildmode=noselect:full
+< Display 'wildmenu' without completing, then each full match >
+ :set wildmode=noselect:lastused,full
+< Same as above, but sort buffers by time last used.
More info here: |cmdline-completion|.
*'wildoptions'* *'wop'*